Album review: Robert Plant – Band Of Joy (Decca/Rounder)

It’s been a long time since any of [a]Led Zeppelin[/a] were endowed with supreme and imperious powers, but what to do when you’re a living legend and the creative well runs dry? Being a vice-president of his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers FC gets Bob out of the house at the weekend and his Grammy-winning [b]‘Raising Sand’[/b] album with [a]Alison Krauss[/a] probably felt like vindication of a sort. However, there’s little here that titillates or taxes. Blues, folk and bluegrass reworkings of old favourites pass muster, and two glowering covers of songs by Minnesota’s [a]Low[/a] are engaging. Still, [b]‘Band Of Joy’[/b] is an essential purchase… if your dad is having a birthday this month.

[b]Jeremy Allen[/b]

Click here to get your copy of Robert Plant’s ‘Band Of Joy’ from Rough Trade Shops.